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A Spanish judge has opened an investigation against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife over corruption allegations, raising political tensions in Madrid to new levels.
The judge’s surprise action against Begoña Gómez sparked outrage in Sánchez’s socialist-led government, which dismissed the allegations as “false” and blamed right-wing enemies.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado initiated legal proceedings after receiving a complaint of influence peddling from a union. It was alleged that Gómez received favors from private companies that won government tenders and received subsidies.
Félix Bolaños, Spain’s justice minister, called the case “another false accusation.”
Sánchez told parliament on Wednesday: “On a day like today and despite the news I’ve heard, despite everything, I still believe in justice in my country.”
The union that filed the complaint was Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), which has a proven history of filing anti-corruption cases and whose leader has links to the far-right. The complaint was based on a series of articles published by news organizations, particularly El Confidencial.
The judge must now call witnesses and evaluate the evidence before deciding whether to proceed with the case.
Manos Limpias claims that Gómez received favors from executives at Air Europa and its parent company Globalia in her role as director of an Africa research center that she ran for almost four years until 2022 at IE University in Madrid. Manos Limpias links her activity to a €475 million rescue package the airline received at the end of 2020 as it struggled to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Gómez has remained silent about the allegations in recent weeks and could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Globalia declined to comment.
IE University confirmed that it had received four airline tickets from Globalia in 2020 as part of an event sponsorship deal, but said it had not received any money from Globalia or its Africa center.
The conservative opposition called on Sánchez to immediately provide lawmakers with “explanations” on the case.
Esther Muñoz, deputy secretary of the opposition People’s Party, said: “It is the head of government who is putting his wife in the spotlight with his silence, not the People’s Party.”
Other ministers in Sanchez’s government hit back at the opposition. María Jesús Montero, Spain’s deputy prime minister, said: “We are facing the worst PP in history” and accused it of being confused with the “practices and discourses of the extreme right”.
Sánchez’s government has focused in recent weeks on the upcoming regional and EU elections and has been able to pass few laws.
The PP has delayed the adoption of a controversial law granting amnesty to Catalan separatists involved in a 2017 secession attempt. Sánchez’s minority coalition government relies on the votes of Catalan lawmakers, who will not support any further draft legislation until the amnesty law is passed.
The Catalan regional elections on May 12 are likely to test Sánchez’s standing in the wake of the amnesty deal. In the polls, Sánchez’s Catalan branch of the Socialist Party is at the top, followed by the hardline separatists Junts per Catalunya.